Located at the Sichuan Provinces, the Wolong Nature Reserve and the China Research and Conservation Center for the Giant Panda are at the heart of the Chinese and international commitment to save the giant panda from extinction. Also known as the Wolong Giant Panda Reserve, it has grown over the past quarter century to offer real hope for the survival of the giant panda and the biodiversity of the surrounding mountain habitat.

In the late 1950's, the Chinese government began to recognize that the fate of the giant panda could be endangered if action was not taken to protect it. In the early 1960's, initial steps were taken to establish a giant panda reserve and encourage bans on hunting. Since then, several reserves have been established in an effort to safe-guard the pandas and the bamboo forest habitat on which they depend.

The Wolong Nature Reserve was established in 1963 primarily to protect the habitat of the giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca). According to researchers Li and Zhao in 1989, the Wolong Nature Reserve boasted 19% of the country's animal species.

In the early 1980s, the China Research and Conservation Center for the Giant Panda was established by the Government of the People's Republic of China (P.R.C.) with support and funding from World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) and the efforts of the renowned Dr. George Schaller.

Mountainous slopes of bamboo, larch and rhododendron form the Wolong Nature Reserve where the staff of the breeding center struggles to preserve one of Earth's most endangered species.

Because of the difficult terrain and the shyness of pandas, much of the early field research was not actually done on the pandas, rather on what they left behind-their droppings. Studying the droppings helped scientists begin to understand much about the giant panda's unusual diet of bamboo and its unique adaptations to surviving on it.

Today the Center continues to care for almost 50 pandas while focusing on breeding and research on bamboo ecology. Efforts in protecting China's wildlife have been extended with the Center's additional attention toward the red panda and golden monkey. Recently, the Center has begun breeding programs for the golden monkey and red panda. Wolong is currently rehabilitating and even releasing both species back in to the wild. Their efforts bring hope that the slopes of the Wolong Nature Reserve will one day return to their naturally vibrant, diverse state."

Chronology of Events and Achievements

• 1957: The Third National People's Congress (of the Government of People's Republic of China) recognizes increasing pressure on the survival of the giant panda and begins efforts to protect the species
• 1962: Panda hunting officially banned in Wolong and throughout China
• 1963: First official reserves to protect the giant panda proclaimed; Wolong Nature Reserve established
• 1972: Ling-Ling and Hsing-Hsing presented by the People's Republic of China to the United States. Giant panda pair go on display at Washington D.C.'s National Zoo (USA)
• 1980: Landmark giant panda research study begins at Wuyipeng in Wolong Nature Reserve with joint Chinese-American team
• 1982: First facilities of Giant Panda Breeding Center built along the Pitiao River in Wolong
• 1984: Second massive flowering and die-off of bamboo in a decade (first in 1973) threatens giant panda survival; giant panda population less than 75 in Wolong
• 1984: Giant Panda listed by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (C.I.T.E.S.) as endangered
• 1991: Bai Yun is the first captive panda born at Wolong to survive
• 1992: The first Chinese National Conservation Management Plan for the giant panda and its habitat included Wolong as a cornerstone for its efforts toward panda protection
• 1992: Ling-Ling dies at National Zoo in Washington D.C. USA
• 1992: First red panda rescued and brought to The China Panda Research and Conservation Center
• 1995: Wolong staff introduced "panda bread," improving ability to feed giant pandas
• 1996: Wolong loans Bai Yun to San Diego Zoo (USA) for 12 year breeding study with older male
• 1998: 17 new panda reserves established in China, making a total of 32 reserves protecting more than 16,000 square kilometers (6,000 square miles)
• 1999: Hsing-hsing died in November at the National Zoo, Washington D.C. USA
• 1999: Wolong and San Diego Zoo researchers develop infant milk formula
• 1999: Bai Yun gives birth to female Hua Mei, first captive born survivor in USA and second generation captive born giant panda
• 2000: First time over ten baby pandas are born in a season at Wolong and all survive
• 2001: Two young captive-bred pandas from the breeding center in Wolong Reserve make their public debut at the National Zoo, Washington D.C. USA
• 2001: GLOBIO begins first initiative to represent Wolong as Wild Orphans project site
  

The 1990's have seen the greatest advance in giant panda breeding and successful rearing over anytime in history. Today all the pandas seen in zoos around the world are the result of this hard earned understanding of giant panda breeding biology and behavior and the unique needs of infant and baby pandas. With nearly two dozen births in the past few years, the future of the giant panda and the health of the Wolong Nature Reserve's biodiversity are looking brighter.

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